Pricing Question and question about quartz

[Jeff Wilkins]

How much would you charge for just lasering a 4in x 4in coaster on quartz. I have been asked to do 40 of them and it takes 3.25mins per coaster (no fixture, just popping them in and out and pressing start each time). I would also be doing 40 beer mugs with the same logo, and would take the same time, but a bit more setup because of the rotary. Thoughts? I did do some work on fixing the logo (~30mins).

Also, with the quartz, has anyone color filled this? What paint should I use, do I need a clearcoat on top?

Thanks as always!

[Jeff Wilkins]

Wow, over 100 looks and no posts. Feel free to PM me instead. I just wanted to get a ballpark quote.

[Dan Hintz]

I don't think it's an issue with pricing... it's quartz. Quartz does not do well in the laser. For proof, look at any engraving in granite with a lot of quartz in it. The laser leaves the quartz practically untouched compared to the surrounding substrate.

[Mike Null]

I think Dan nailed it. The laser is not the tool of choice for quartz. As for color filling, I'd forget that too as there will be insufficient depth to permit an acceptable fill.
I have sand blasted quartz with some success and even color filled it.

[Jeff Wilkins]

I did some tests on it and I was able to laser an acceptable difference between the black quartz and the dark gray etched portion. I will not be color filling them. Thanks for the replys.

[Dan Hintz]

I take it, then, you're not talking about pure quartz but some kind of mix, like a countertop material that's called quartz?

[Scott Shepherd]

No less than $6 each. Probably more around $8 each.

[Terry Swift]

Jeff - cut your time by doing as many as you can in one run. If the laser doesn't have to travel a good distance from one piece to the other - then you should be able to reduce your time by not having to start, stop, start, stop for each one. Mugs different thing though. Nice coasters can fetch $5-$10 each depending on what you may laser on it. For a business you may get something a bit more if their logo and such is on it; versus a regular joe who want simple text or something. What's your market?

[Jeff Wilkins]

This is for our football boosters. The money would go toward our robotics club at school. The athletic dept didn't have a clue on how much this type of thing would cost. The coasters were given to me, I am just lasering them with the fb boosters logo on them. I was thinking $3-4 each for the lasering. The coasters are all slightly different in size that is why I don't put a big group of them on the bed at a time. I don't want the logo to get off of center due to coaster size issues. Thanks for the ballpark numbers, again we typically don't do this sort of thing, but if we can raise some money for our robotics program in the process it helps offset our travel expenses for our students.